Multiplayer team balancing

ABSTRACT

Techniques are disclosed for multiplayer team balancing in a virtual environment. A group activity is provided in which at least two teams of avatars participate. Each team has a respective plurality of distinct avatars, and each avatar is controlled by a respective player. The at least teams are in competition with one another to achieve a predefined objective when participating in the group activity. Upon it being determined, when the group activity is in progress, that a first player of a first avatar on a first team of the at least two teams is no longer available to participate in the group activity, a balancing action is performed in order to compensate for the first player no longer being available to participate in the group activity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 61/802,405, filed on Mar. 16, 2013. The aforementionedprovisional patent application is herein incorporated by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND

In-home computer games and computer game systems have become mainstreamconsumer products. Such systems allow a user to play computer games athome on a standard television set or on a handheld device that the usermay carry with the user. Typically, in-home computer game systemsinclude a console that reads computer game code from a storage device(e.g., a CD-ROM disc or cartridge) and transmits video to a televisionscreen for display. Computer game systems also typically include acontroller device that allows the user playing the computer game toprovide inputs to the computer game to manipulate the characters orother features of the game.

Generally, the designer of the computer game will create acomputer-rendered world in which the computer game characters or otherfeatures may interact. For example, many computer games allow a playerto maneuver an avatar (e.g., a sprite or character) through acomputer-rendered world to accomplish a set of tasks. Other computergames allow the player to control a vehicle or airplane through acomputer-rendered world. In two-dimensional computer games, charactersmay move in two dimensions (e.g., up and down on the screen or left andright), while in three-dimensional computer games, characters aretypically allowed to move in three dimensions in the computer-renderedworld.

SUMMARY

Embodiments presented in this disclosure provide a computer-implementedmethod of multiplayer team balancing in a virtual environment. Themethod includes providing a group activity in which at least two teamsof avatars participate. Each team has a respective plurality of distinctavatars, and each avatar is controlled by a respective player. At leasttwo teams are in competition with one another to achieve a predefinedobjective when participating in the group activity. Each avatar isselected from a set of available avatars, and each available avatar hasa distinct name and a distinct gameplay aspect relative to otheravailable avatars. Each team has at most one of each available avatar.The method also includes, upon determining, when the group activity isin progress, that a first player of a first avatar on a first team ofthe at least two teams is no longer available to participate in thegroup activity, performing a balancing action in order to compensate forthe first player no longer being available to participate in the groupactivity.

Other embodiments presented in this disclosure provide acomputer-readable medium for of multiplayer team balancing in a virtualenvironment and containing a program which, when executed, performs anoperation that includes providing a group activity in which at least twoteams of avatars participate. Each team has a respective plurality ofdistinct avatars, and each avatar is controlled by a respective player.At least two teams are in competition with one another to achieve apredefined objective when participating in the group activity. Eachavatar is selected from a set of available avatars, and each availableavatar has a distinct name and a distinct gameplay aspect relative toother available avatars. Each team has at most one of each availableavatar. The operation also includes, upon determining, when the groupactivity is in progress, that a first player of a first avatar on afirst team of the at least two teams is no longer available toparticipate in the group activity, performing a balancing action inorder to compensate for the first player no longer being available toparticipate in the group activity.

Still other embodiments presented in this disclosure provide a systemfor of multiplayer team balancing in a virtual environment. The systemincludes one or more computer processors and a memory containing aprogram which, when executed by the one or more computer processors, isconfigured to perform an operation that includes providing a groupactivity in which at least two teams of avatars participate. Each teamhas a respective plurality of distinct avatars, and each avatar iscontrolled by a respective player. At least two teams are in competitionwith one another to achieve a predefined objective when participating inthe group activity. Each avatar is selected from a set of availableavatars, and each available avatar has a distinct name and a distinctgameplay aspect relative to other available avatars. Each team has atmost one of each available avatar. The operation also includes, upondetermining, when the group activity is in progress, that a first playerof a first avatar on a first team of the at least two teams is no longeravailable to participate in the group activity, performing a balancingaction in order to compensate for the first player no longer beingavailable to participate in the group activity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and paymentof the necessary fee.

So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages andobjects of embodiments presented in this disclosure are attained and canbe understood in detail, a more particular description of theembodiments, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to theembodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments disclosed herein and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart depicting a method for multiplayer team balancingin a virtual environment, according to one embodiment presented in thisdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting a method to determine that a player isunavailable during a group activity, according to one embodimentpresented in this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a method to perform a balancing actionin order to compensate for a player no longer being available toparticipate in the group activity, according to one embodiment presentedin this disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of an applicationconfigured to perform a team balancing operation, according to oneembodiment presented in this disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a networked system formultiplayer team balancing, according to one embodiment presented inthis disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments presented in this disclosure generally facilitatemultiplayer team balancing in virtual environments.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart depicting a method 100 for multiplayer teambalancing in a virtual environment, according to one embodimentpresented in this disclosure. One embodiment provides an applicationconfigured to facilitate multiplayer team balancing in the virtualenvironment. As shown, the method 100 begins at the step 102, where theapplication provides a group activity in which at least two teams ofavatars participate. Each team may have a respective plurality ofdistinct avatars, and each avatar may be controlled by a respectiveplayer. At least two times are in competition with one another toachieve a predefined objective when participating in the group activity.Each avatar is selected from a set of available avatars, and eachavailable avatar has a distinct name and a distinct gameplay aspectrelative to other available avatars. In some embodiments, each team hasat most one of each available avatar. Put another way, in suchembodiments, a given team is not allowed to have multiple players usingthe same avatar. At least in some embodiment, the distinct gameplayaspect refers to an aspect affecting gameplay and that extends beyondmere visual or cosmetic distinction relative to other avatars. Anexample of a gameplay aspect is a unique skill, spell, trait, attribute,strength, or weakness of an avatar. At step 104, the applicationdetermines, when the group activity is in progress, that a first playerof a first avatar on a first team of the at least two teams is no longeravailable to participate in the group activity. The step 104 is furtherdescribed below in conjunction with FIG. 2. At step 106, the applicationperforms a balancing operation in order to compensate for the firstplayer no longer being available to participate in the group activity.The balancing operation is also referred to herein as a balancingaction. Further, the step 104 is further described below in conjunctionwith FIG. 3. After the step 106, the method 100 terminates.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting a method 200 to determine that a playeris unavailable during a group activity, according to one embodimentpresented in this disclosure. The method 200 corresponds to the step 104of FIG. 1. As shown, the method 200 begins at step 202, where theapplication determines whether the player has been inactive for athreshold time period. If not, the application determines whether theplayer has disconnected (step 204). If not, the application determineswhether the player has willfully exited the group activity, the virtualenvironment, or the computer game providing the virtual environment(step 206). For instance, the application may determine whether theplayer has submitted an explicit request, recognized by the application,to exit the group activity. In some embodiments, the application mayalso determine whether the player has operating system command toforcibly terminate the application. If the player is not determined tohave willfully exited the group activity, the application determineswhether the player has un-willfully exited (step 208). If not, theapplication determines that the player is available (step 210). On theother hand, if any of the steps 202, 204, 206, 208 are answered in theaffirmative, then the application determines that the player isunavailable (step 212). After the step 210 or 212, the method 200terminates.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a method 300 to perform a balancingaction in order to compensate for a player no longer being available toparticipate in the group activity, according to one embodiment presentedin this disclosure. The method 300 corresponds to the step 106 ofFIG. 1. As shown, the method 300 begins at step 302, where theapplication determines an appropriate balancing action based on apredefined criterion such as user preferences, user voting, virtualenvironment administrator settings, etc. If a first balancing action isdetermined (step 304), the application allows a new player to join thegroup activity and to replace the first player in the first team for atleast part of a duration in which the first player is unavailable (step308). On the other hand, if a second balancing action is determined(step 306), the application prevents a second player on a second team ofthe at least two teams from participating in the group activity for atleast part of the duration in which the first player is unavailable(step 310). After the step 308 or the step 310, or if no balancingaction is determined, the method 300 terminates. The number and types ofbalancing actions may be tailored to suit the needs of a particularcase.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of an application 402configured to perform a team balancing operation, according to oneembodiment presented in this disclosure. Depending on the embodiment,the application 402 may be a virtual world client application or avirtual world server application. As shown, the application 402 includesa group activity manager 404, a player unavailability detector 406, ateam balancing module 408, a player voting module 410, and an incentivemodule 412. In one embodiment, the group activity manager 404 isconfigured to initiate, manage, and end group activities occurring inthe virtual environment. The player unavailability detector 406 isconfigured to detect unavailability of a player when a group activity istaking place in the virtual environment.

In one embodiment, the team balancing module 408 is configured toperform a balancing operation in response to the detected unavailabilityof the player and according to the techniques disclosed herein. In oneembodiment, the team balancing module 408 also grants the new playerwith avatar aspects selected from avatar currency, avatar experience,avatar items, and avatar skill point distributions, that at leastpartially correspond to the respective avatar aspect of the first playerwhen the first player is first determined to be inactive. In someembodiments, such avatar aspects may be determined based on otherplayers in the group activity, including team members of the unavailableplayer and/or opposing team members—in conjunction with or to theexclusion of the unavailable player. For instance, when joining the gameas a substitute for the unavailable player, the new player may receivean additional amount of avatar currency determined based on a functionof the current avatar currencies of the team members of the unavailableplayer, where the function is an average or other statistical measure.The player voting module 410 is configured to allow voting player of theteams participating in the group activity to control whether new playersmay join in place of an unavailable player and what avatars the newplayers may be allowed to select upon joining For example, in oneembodiment, a respective threshold number of votes must be reachedwithin the team of the unavailable player in order to decide each of:(i) whether to wait for the unavailable player to rejoin; (ii) whetherto replace the unavailable player with a new player; and (iii) whetherto allow the new player to join with a different avatar rather thanhaving the new player use the same avatar as the first player. Eachthreshold may be distinct in some embodiments. Further, in oneembodiment, the new player is only allowed to join with a differentavatar if each opposing team also reaches a threshold number of votes infavor of doing so.

In one embodiment, the incentive module 412 is configured to reward anew player for making himself or herself available to contribute tobalanced gameplay as the subject of the balancing operation, upon thegroup activity ending. In one embodiment, each module has a respectivemodule name uniquely identifying the respective module relative to othermodules, and each module contains a respective, distinct set of sourcecode of the application 402. In some embodiments, the incentive module412 may also provide disincentives to players who are suspected ofpurposefully exit group activities prematurely in order to ruin theexperience of other players. For example, in some embodiments, theincentive module 412 may penalize players who exhibit a pattern ofpremature leaving by only allowing such players to join alreadycommenced group activities as part of balancing operations, as a form ofrehabilitation of such players. Only upon successful completion of suchgroup activities are such players once again allowed to join groupactivities that are to newly commence. The number and types of modules408 may be tailored to suit the needs of a particular case.

Examples of incentives include, but are not limited to, experiencepoints and associated bonuses thereof, virtual currency and associatedbonuses thereof, real currency and associated bonuses thereof, etc.Additionally or alternatively, player titles may be granted to players,based on the extent to which players participate in facilitatingmultiplayer team balancing, which players may choose to display in-gameand/or outside of the game (e.g., on a player profile on a website forthe game). For instance, titles such as “Savior”, “Good Samaritan” maybe granted to the player. In some embodiments, titles may also haveassociated tiers or levels: for example, titles of “Novice Balancer”,“Master Balancer”, and “Legendary Balancer” may be awarded, inrecognition of successively greater achievement in terms of involvementin multiplayer team balancing. Achievement may be measured in terms ofnumber of substitute games completed, minutes played therein, etc.

In some embodiments, when presenting, to a new player, an option to joina group activity in progress and thereby replace an unavailable player,the application presents the new player with information pertaining tothe group activity in progress and/or the team that the new player mayjoin. Doing so allows the new player to make a more informed decision ofwhether to join a particular group activity in progress. For instance,the information pertaining to the group activity in progress may includea group activity name or type, map name or type, group activity modes oroptions, elapsed duration of the group activity, etc. The informationpertaining to the team may include player names and roles, playerattributes such as player skill levels or player friendliness measures,etc. At least in some embodiments, the information presented to the newplayer is exactly the information, neither more nor less, than thatprovided to the other players of the group activity at or prior to thetime of commencement of the group activity. In alternative embodiments,however the new player may be provided with additional information or areduced amount of information.

Assume that after the new player opts to join the group activity inprogress and thereby replace the now-unavailable first player. Assumefurther that the first player subsequently indicates a desire to re-jointhe group activity in progress. In some embodiments, the applicationprecludes the first player from successfully re-joining the groupactivity in progress. Alternatively, the application may reduce oreliminate a penalty applied to the first player, should the applicationdetermine that the indication of first player to re-join the groupactivity in progress is in earnest, such as based on historical behaviorof the user as reflected in one or more activity logs maintained for thefirst player. For instance, the application may predict, based onhistorical behavior of the player, whether the player is intending tore-join only to intentionally further undermine multiplayer teambalancing by leave the group activity once again. In still otherembodiments, the application permits the first player to re-join thegroup activity in progress and prematurely removes the new player fromthe group activity in progress. In such instances, the new player maynevertheless be rewarded the full reward as though the new player hadcompleted the group activity. The reward may also be increased tocompensate the new player for the inconvenience or undesirability ofbeing precluded from successfully completing the group activity.Further, in some embodiments, one or more team members of the new playerare permitted to vote in order to decide whether to allow the firstplayer to rejoin the group activity and thereby replace the new player,based on a vote that exceeds a predefined threshold of votes. Dependingon the embodiment, this predefined threshold of votes may be the same asor different from the other thresholds described above.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a networked system 500 formultiplayer team balancing, according to one embodiment presented inthis disclosure. The networked system 500 includes a computer 502. Thecomputer 502 may also be connected to other computers via a network 530.In general, the network 530 may be a telecommunications network and/or awide area network (WAN). In a particular embodiment, the network 530 isthe Internet.

The computer 502 generally includes a processor 504 connected via a bus512 to a memory 506, a network interface device 510, a storage 508, aninput device 514, and an output device 516. The computer 502 isgenerally under the control of an operating system. Examples ofoperating systems include UNIX, versions of the Microsoft Windows®operating system, and distributions of the Linux® operating system. Moregenerally, any operating system supporting the functions disclosedherein may be used. The processor 504 is included to be representativeof a single CPU, multiple CPUs, a single CPU having multiple processingcores, and the like. Similarly, the memory 406 may be a random accessmemory. While the memory 506 is shown as a single entity, it should beunderstood that the memory 506 may comprise a plurality of modules, andthat the memory 506 may exist at multiple levels, from high speedregisters and caches to lower speed but larger DRAM chips. The networkinterface device 510 may be any type of network communications deviceallowing the computer 502 to communicate with other computers via thenetwork 530.

The storage 508 may be a persistent storage device. Although the storage508 is shown as a single unit, the storage 508 may be a combination offixed and/or removable storage devices, such as fixed disc drives, solidstate drives, floppy disc drives, tape drives, removable memory cards oroptical storage. The memory 506 and the storage 508 may be part of onevirtual address space spanning multiple primary and secondary storagedevices.

The input device 514 may be any device for providing input to thecomputer 502. For example, a keyboard and/or a mouse may be used. Theoutput device 516 may be any device for providing output to a user ofthe computer 502. For example, the output device 516 may be anyconventional display screen or set of speakers. Although shownseparately from the input device 514, the output device 516 and inputdevice 514 may be combined. For example, a display screen with anintegrated touch-screen may be used.

As shown, the memory 506 of the computer 502 includes the application402. In one embodiment, the application 102 is configured to perform abalancing operation based on the techniques disclosed herein. Doing somay improve user satisfaction with group activities in the virtualenvironment at least in some cases.

In the preceding, reference is made to embodiments presented in thisdisclosure. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limitedto specific described embodiments. Instead, any combination of thefollowing features and elements, whether related to differentembodiments or not, is contemplated to implement and practicecontemplated embodiments. Furthermore, although embodiments disclosedherein may achieve advantages over other possible solutions or over theprior art, whether or not a particular advantage is achieved by a givenembodiment is not limiting of the scope of the present disclosure. Thus,the preceding aspects, features, embodiments and advantages are merelyillustrative and are not considered elements or limitations of theappended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s). Likewise,reference to “the invention” shall not be construed as a generalizationof any inventive subject matter disclosed herein and shall not beconsidered to be an element or limitation of the appended claims exceptwhere explicitly recited in a claim(s).

Aspects presented in this disclosure may be embodied as a system, methodor computer program product. Accordingly, aspects disclosed herein maytake the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) oran embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects disclosed herein may take the form of a computerprogram product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s)having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this disclosure, a computer readablestorage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store aprogram for use by or in connection with an instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects disclosedherein may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on the computer of auser, partly on the computer of the user, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the computer of the user and partly on a remotecomputer, or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the computer of theuser via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects presented in this disclosure are described above with referenceto flowchart illustrations or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodimentsdisclosed herein. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart or block diagramblock or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart or blockdiagram block or blocks.

Embodiments disclosed herein may be provided to end users through acloud computing infrastructure. Cloud computing generally refers to theprovision of scalable computing resources as a service over a network.More formally, cloud computing may be defined as a computing capabilitythat provides an abstraction between the computing resource and itsunderlying technical architecture (e.g., servers, storage, networks),enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool ofconfigurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned andreleased with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.Thus, cloud computing allows a user to access virtual computingresources (e.g., storage, data, applications, and even completevirtualized computing systems) in “the cloud,” without regard for theunderlying physical systems (or locations of those systems) used toprovide the computing resources.

Typically, cloud computing resources are provided to a user on apay-per-use basis, where users are charged only for the computingresources actually used (e.g., an amount of storage space consumed by auser or a number of virtualized systems instantiated by the user). Auser can access any of the resources that reside in the cloud at anytime, and from anywhere across the Internet. In context of theembodiments presented herein, a user of the application 402 may submit avote via a client application to a server application, in support of abalancing operation to be performed in order to replace an unavailableteammate with a new player. Thus, the user may enjoy benefits of thebalancing operation from any computing system attached to a networkconnected to the cloud (e.g., the Internet) and be charged based on theprocessing environment(s) used.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments disclosed herein. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. Each block of the block diagrams or flowchartillustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams orflowchart illustration, can be implemented by special-purposehardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments presented in thisdisclosure, other and further embodiments may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope of contemplated embodiments, and thescope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of using balancingactions to mitigate disruption of networked group activities as a resultof participant inactivity, the computer-implemented method comprising:programmatically conducting a plurality of networked group activities ina virtual environment of a computer game, based on input received from aplurality of participants via a computer network, wherein each networkedgroup activity includes two teams of avatars controlled based on theinput, each team having a respective plurality of distinct avatars, eachavatar of which is controlled by a respective participant of theplurality of participants, wherein the at least two teams are incompetition with one another to achieve a predefined objective whenparticipating in the respective networked group activity, wherein eachavatar is selected from a set of available avatars, each availableavatar having a distinct name and a distinct gameplay aspect relative toother available avatars; upon determining, during a first of theplurality of networked group activities, that the avatar of a first ofthe plurality of participants is inactive in the first networked groupactivity as characterized by absence of gameplay input received from thefirst participant for at least a threshold period of time while theavatar of the first participant remains present in the first networkedgroup activity, performing a first balancing action including replacingthe first participant with a new participant, outside of the pluralityof participants, in the first networked group activity for at least partof a duration in which the avatar of the first participant is inactive;upon determining, during a second of the plurality of networked groupactivities, that the avatar of a second of the plurality of participantsis inactive in the second networked group activity, performing, byoperation of one or more computer processors, a second balancing actionincluding prohibiting activity of the avatar of a third participant ofthe plurality of participants and on an opposing team relative to thesecond participant, in the second networked group activity for at leastpart of a duration in which the avatar of the second participant isinactive; and subsequent to completion of at least one of the first andsecond networked group activities, awarding an incentive via thecomputer network and to at least one of the new participant and thethird participant for facilitating balance in the computer game.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first and secondbalancing actions are performed by an application operatively connectedto the computer network, wherein the application is configured to, inrespective instances, perform a respective balancing action responsiveto determining that the first participant is no longer available toparticipate in the first networked group activity upon each individualcondition selected from: (i) the avatar of the first participant beinginactive; (ii) the first participant disconnecting from the firstnetworked group activity; (iii) the first participant exiting thevirtual environment as a result of an explicit request of the firstparticipant to exit the virtual environment; and (iv) the firstparticipant exiting the virtual environment not as a result of anyexplicit request of the first participant to exit the virtualenvironment.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein thenew participant is added upon receiving, from the new participant,confirmation of a desire to join an already commenced, networked groupactivity and to use a first avatar of the first participant, wherein thenew participant is precluded from participating in the first networkedgroup activity using any avatar other than the first avatar previouslyused by the first participant, in order to further facilitate balance;wherein the first and second balancing actions are performed withoutrestarting the first and second networked group activities and in orderto mitigate disruption of the first and second networked groupactivities due to inactivity of the first and second participants,wherein each team has at most one of each available avatar, wherein thefirst balancing action further includes assigning the new participant aninherited gameplay measure via the computer network, the inheritedgameplay measure comprising at least part of an avatar-specific gameplaymeasure accrued during the first networked group activity by one or moreparticipants of a team of the first participant.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the application isconfigured to, in respective instances, provide the new participant witheach individual avatar-specific gameplay measure selected from: avatarcurrency, avatar experience, avatar items, and avatar skill pointdistribution, to at least partially correspond to the respectiveavatar-specific gameplay measure of the first participant when the firstparticipant is first determined to have become unavailable; wherein theapplication is further configured to provide a predefined period of timein which the application adjusts each avatar-specific gameplay measurebased on input from the new participant and without penalty to the newparticipant in terms of the first networked group activity, wherein thecomputer-implemented method further comprises: upon determining that agiven participant, selected from the first and second participants, hassurpassed a threshold number of times of becoming unavailable duringnetworked group activities, assigning an eligibility restriction as apenalty to the given participant via the computer network, theeligibility restriction precluding the given participant fromparticipating in one or more subsequent networked group activitiesexcept as a replacement participant for one or more subsequent balancingactions, wherein the eligibility restriction is removed only uponcompletion of a predefined count of networked group activities in whichthe one or more subsequent balancing actions occur.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein subsequent to completionof the first networked group activity, the new participant is awarded afirst incentive via the computer network for facilitating balance in thecomputer game, wherein subsequent to completion of the second networkedgroup activity, the third participant is awarded a second incentive viathe computer network for facilitating balance in the computer game,wherein the incentive comprises at least one of the first and secondincentives, wherein the incentive comprises at least one of virtualcurrency and real currency, wherein the virtual currency is a differenttype of currency than the avatar currency, wherein the at least part ofthe avatar-specific gameplay measure is less than all of theavatar-specific gameplay measure; wherein the incentive furthercomprises a first participant title explicitly characterizing the atleast one participant as being a facilitator of balance in the computergame, wherein the first player title is selected from a plurality ofparticipant titles corresponding to successively greatercharacterizations of being a facilitator of balance in the computergame, wherein the first participant title is selected based on a measureof contribution of the at least one participant to balance in thecomputer game; wherein the penalty further includes a second participanttitle explicitly characterizing the given participant as beingdetrimental to balance in the computer game.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 5, wherein the first and second balancing actions aredistinct, wherein the first, second, and third participants are distinctparticipants, wherein the application is configured to programmaticallysearch for new participants to invite to join the first networked groupactivity in place of the first participant only upon approval of thepredefined number of other participants on a first team of the firstparticipant, thereby permitting the first team control of whether toreplace the first participant and whether to wait for the firstparticipant to rejoin the first networked group activity, wherein eachparticipant comprises a human participant, wherein the incentiveconsists of a predefined amount of virtual currency usable in thecomputer game; wherein the application has a plurality of componentsincluding a group activity manager, a participant availability detector,a team balancing module, and an incentive module, wherein each of thefirst and second networked group activities is programmaticallyconducted by the group activity manager, wherein that the first andsecond participants have respectively become unavailable is determinedby the participant availability detector, wherein the first and secondbalancing actions are respectively performed by the team balancingmodule, wherein the incentive is awarded by the incentive module,wherein the application is configured to, in respective instances: (i)only assign, to the new participant, the at least part of theavatar-specific gameplay measure accrued by the first participant duringthe first networked group activity, wherein the avatar-specific gameplaymeasure comprises a first gameplay measure; (ii) only assign, to the newparticipant, at least part of a second gameplay measure accrued by thesame team as the first participant; and (iii) only assign, to the newparticipant, at least part of a third gameplay measure accrued by atleast one participant, other than the first participant, on the sameteam as the first participant.
 7. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the first balancing action further includes assigningthe new participant an inherited gameplay measure via the computernetwork.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: upon determining that a given participant, selected from thefirst and second participants, has exhibited a pattern of becomingunavailable during networked group activities, assigning, as a penaltyto the given participant via the computer network, an eligibilityrestriction on one or more subsequent networked group activities.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one of thefirst, second, third, and new participants is assigned a participanttitle explicitly characterizing a measure of at least one participant asbeing a facilitator or hinderer of balance in the computer game.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: upondetermining that a given participant, selected from the first and secondparticipants, has surpassed a threshold number of times of becomingunavailable during networked group activities, assigning, as a penaltyto the given participant via the computer network, an eligibilityrestriction on one or more subsequent networked group activities,wherein the eligibility restriction is removed only upon completion of apredefined count of the one or more subsequent networked groupactivities.
 11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium to usebalancing actions to mitigate disruption of networked group activitiesas a result of participant inactivity, the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium containing an application which, when executed,performs an operation comprising: programmatically conducting aplurality of networked group activities in a virtual environment of acomputer game, based on input received from a plurality of participantsvia a computer network, wherein each networked group activity includestwo teams of avatars controlled based on the input, each team having arespective plurality of distinct avatars, each avatar of which iscontrolled by a respective participant of the plurality of participants,wherein the at least two teams are in competition with one another toachieve a predefined objective when participating in the respectivenetworked group activity, wherein each avatar is selected from a set ofavailable avatars, each available avatar having a distinct name and adistinct gameplay aspect relative to other available avatars; upondetermining, during a first of the plurality of networked groupactivities, that the avatar of a first of the plurality of participantsis inactive in the first networked group activity as characterized byabsence of gameplay input received from the first participant for atleast a threshold period of time while the avatar of the firstparticipant remains present in the first networked group activity,performing a first balancing action including replacing the firstparticipant with a new participant, outside of the plurality ofparticipants, in the first networked group activity for at least part ofa duration in which the avatar of the first participant is inactive;upon determining, during a second of the plurality of networked groupactivities, that the avatar of a second of the plurality of participantsis inactive in the second networked group activity, performing, byoperation of one or more computer processors when executing theapplication, a second balancing action including prohibiting activity ofthe avatar of a third participant of the plurality of participants andon an opposing team relative to the second participant, in the secondnetworked group activity for at least part of a duration in which theavatar of the second participant is inactive; and subsequent tocompletion of at least one of the first and second networked groupactivities, awarding an incentive via the computer network and to atleast one of the new participant and the third participant forfacilitating balance in the computer game.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the first balancing actionfurther includes assigning the new participant an inherited gameplaymeasure via the computer network.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operation furthercomprises: upon determining that a given participant, selected from thefirst and second participants, has exhibited a pattern of becomingunavailable during networked group activities, assigning, as a penaltyto the given participant via the computer network, an eligibilityrestriction on one or more subsequent networked group activities. 14.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein atleast one of the first, second, third, and new participants is assigneda participant title explicitly characterizing a measure of at least oneparticipant as being a facilitator or hinderer of balance in thecomputer game.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim11, wherein the operation further comprises: upon determining that agiven participant, selected from the first and second participants, hassurpassed a threshold number of times of becoming unavailable duringnetworked group activities, assigning, as a penalty to the givenparticipant via the computer network, an eligibility restriction on oneor more subsequent networked group activities, wherein the eligibilityrestriction is removed only upon completion of a predefined count of theone or more subsequent networked group activities.
 16. A system of usingbalancing actions to mitigate disruption of networked group activitiesas a result of participant inactivity, the system comprising: one ormore computer processors; a memory containing the application which,when executed by the one or more computer processors, performs anoperation comprising: programmatically conducting a plurality ofnetworked group activities in a virtual environment of a computer game,based on input received from a plurality of participants via a computernetwork, wherein each networked group activity includes two teams ofavatars controlled based on the input, each team having a respectiveplurality of distinct avatars, each avatar of which is controlled by arespective participant of the plurality of participants, wherein the atleast two teams are in competition with one another to achieve apredefined objective when participating in the respective networkedgroup activity, wherein each avatar is selected from a set of availableavatars, each available avatar having a distinct name and a distinctgameplay aspect relative to other available avatars; upon determining,during a first of the plurality of networked group activities, that theavatar of a first of the plurality of participants is inactive in thefirst networked group activity as characterized by absence of gameplayinput received from the first participant for at least a thresholdperiod of time while the avatar of the first participant remains presentin the first networked group activity, performing a first balancingaction including replacing the first participant with a new participant,outside of the plurality of players, in the first networked groupactivity for at least part of a duration in which the avatar of thefirst player is inactive; upon determining, during a second of theplurality of networked group activities, that the avatar of a second ofthe plurality of participants is inactive in the second networked groupactivity, performing a second balancing action including prohibitingactivity of the avatar of a third participant of the plurality ofparticipants and on an opposing team relative to the second participant,in the second networked group activity for at least part of a durationin which the avatar of the second participant is inactive; andsubsequent to completion of at least one of the first and secondnetworked group activities, awarding an incentive via the computernetwork and to at least one of the new participant and the thirdparticipant for facilitating balance in the computer game.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the first balancing action further includesassigning the new participant an inherited gameplay measure via thecomputer network.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the operationfurther comprises: upon determining that a given participant, selectedfrom the first and second participants, has exhibited a pattern ofbecoming unavailable during networked group activities, assigning, as apenalty to the given participant via the computer network, aneligibility restriction on one or more subsequent networked groupactivities.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one of thefirst, second, third, and new participants is assigned a participanttitle explicitly characterizing a measure of at least one participant asbeing a facilitator or hinderer of balance in the computer game.
 20. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the operation further comprises: upondetermining that a given participant, selected from the first and secondparticipants, has surpassed a threshold number of times of becomingunavailable during networked group activities, assigning, as a penaltyto the given participant via the computer network, an eligibilityrestriction on one or more subsequent networked group activities,wherein the eligibility restriction is removed only upon completion of apredefined count of the one or more subsequent networked groupactivities.